As we move toward the den’s exit, I catch Kier’s eye and see something there that makes my chest tight.
Hold that thought,I tell myself.Just hold that thought until we get home.
KIER
The eastern facility crouches in the valley like a cancer, its industrial bulk scarring the mountainside. From our position on the overlooking ridge, I can see the steam vents that mark the underground levels, the guard towers that pierce the darkness like silver needles, and the razor wire that crowns the perimeter walls.
“Twenty-three guards visible,” Lithia murmurs beside me, her voice barely audible as she tracks movement through her scope. “Plus however many are inside.”
“Shift change in ten minutes,” I add. “That’s our window.”
Behind us, our team of twelve makes final preparations. The Ghost River wolves move silently, their gray-furred leader nodding his readiness. The bear clan fighters are mountain-solid and patient, waiting for blood. The three witches from the eastern covens whisper final protections over our gear, their magic shimmering like heat waves in the cold air.
“Teams Charlie and Delta in position,” comes the crackling voice through our earpiece. It’s Elias reporting in from the other facility.
“Team Charlie in position,” Dane confirms from the other side of the eastern facility. If all goes to plan, he’ll meet us somewhere in the middle.
Levi checks his watch from his position near our equipment packs. “Synchronized strike in three minutes.”
The tension between him and me remains sharp as a blade, but we’re dealing so far. Whatever personal conflicts we have, innocent lives hang in the balance.
Lithia’s hand finds mine in the darkness, her fingers intertwining with mine for just a moment. No words needed—just the connection, the promise that we’re in this together.
“One minute,” she whispers.
I close my eyes, letting my wolf stretch beneath my skin. Three years of silver poisoning have left their mark, but anger and determination burn hotter than any toxin. Somewhere in that concrete tomb below us, prisoners suffer as we once did.
Not anymore.
“Go.”
We move like death itself descending the mountainside—twelve predators flowing through shadows toward prey thathas no idea what’s coming. The perimeter guards die silently, their throats opened before they can raise alarm. I take the first one myself, a young wolf whose eyes widen in recognition before I end him.
I remember you,I think as I lower his body behind a supply crate.You liked to watch them break us.
The main entrance is heavily fortified, but we easily find the service tunnel Dane’s team used to scout two days ago. We slip inside like smoke, the concrete walls closing around us with familiar, terrifying weight.
Nope, don’t like this.
“Split formation,” Lithia commands in the barest whisper. “Kier and I take point. Levi secures intelligence. Teams sweep and clear.”
The tunnel system is a maze of maintenance corridors and storage areas—perfect for an ambush.
We encounter the first real resistance at a security checkpoint where the service tunnels meet the main complex. Four guards, armed with silver-laced weapons and body armor that gleams with protective runes.
They see us coming.
“Intruders in sector seven!” one shouts into his radio as he brings up a silver-lined rifle. “Code black! Code?—”
Lithia puts three shadow silver throwing knives into his chest before he can finish the transmission. I surge forward, shifting just my face as I tackle the second guard, ripping out his throat with my wolf-jaw. His weapon discharges into the ceiling, concrete dust raining down as we grapple.
The third guard manages to fire once—a silver-core bullet that burns past my shoulder, close enough to sear. Then the Ghost River Alpha is on him, massive jaws clamping down on his weapon arm with a wet crunch.
The fourth turns to run, but one of the bear clan fighters moves with surprising speed for his bulk, crushing the guard’s spine with a single powerful blow.
“Clear,” Lithia reports, but alarms are already sounding deeper in the facility. “So much for stealth.”
I shift back, examining my shoulder. “We knew this would happen,” I remind her. The wound stings but won’t slow me down.
